The Tomball Cougar Pride Band has made a lasting impression this marching season.
Even though this is the smallest the band has been in a while, they still managed to pull themselves together and strut their stuff. The band earned all “straight 1s” in the UIL Contest, advancing them to area. After area, they progressed to Area Finals and finished 6th place out of 10. This placement was the highest finish for the band in years.
“It was a great ending to the season. … We were hoping that there was a chance to make it to state, but you had to be in the top four in finals, and that just wasn’t in the cards this year,” Percussion Director Rob Sullens said.
Not only did the band do well in UIL, they had some success in a couple of other contests. The new directors’ biggest goal, said Sullens, was “to make finals, and make a little history for the program in that aspect.”
This year, the TCP Band has made a stunning achievement not only for themselves, but for their school. As the band directors see it, it’s a good beginning to start from, and they look forward to building on it down the road.
But the achievements aren’t all about the band. It’s also about how the directors, new and old, pulled together to make it. In the long run the band directors feel they are officially prepared for anything else they have in mind for the future.
Not only was the band praised for their achievements, so was Color Guard. Under the new direction of Austin Nelson, Color Guard had received best guard, best visual and best general effects. They placed 6th at the finals competition at area performance, which is the best the school has ever done.
Plans for next semester’s percussion group and color guard include the programs Winter Percussion and Winter Guard, which are competitive winter contests post marching season.
Sullens plans on competing in the percussion ensemble category, to be primarily made of marimbas, xylophones, keyboards, and just concert instruments in general. They will be competing in the TCGC (Texas Color Guard Circuit). This competition is actually a new venture for the band, but they have high hopes that they will be successful.
With Color Guard, Nelson plans on doing an indoor show that they’ve put together on the basketball floor with designs and props. At this time Color Guard is actually learning choreography and prepping for Winter Guard in general.
Nelson and his co-workers plan on going to the Junior Highs to “start a spin club for 8th graders so they can come learn how to spin and dance, to prepare them for high school if they want to join guard so we can recruit them.”